FLICKR, T_BUCHTELEWe are fortunate to live in an exciting time. Today, new technologies enable the design and execution of straightforward experiments, many of which were not possible just a few years ago. These experiments hold the potential to bring new discoveries and to improve medical care. An abundance of obvious-next-step experiments creates a buzz of activities and excitement that is quite palpable among graduate students, postdocs, and professors alike.
Such enthusiasm permeates the air and stimulates; it also overwhelms. It seems there is always so much to do and never enough time to do it. Recent findings have opened up many new research avenues, and emerging technologies are ever-alluring. How are investigators to pursue all of these things, given our limited time? Or, failing that, how can we at least choose the best leads to follow?
Much of the aforementioned buzz is often the result of an overabundance of next-step projects that are obvious to most researchers. Many of these projects are quite good, but rarely are they exceptional—at least in the sense that they result in a nontrivial connection. It’s not often that these projects help researchers advance their fields. Many such projects ...
